(Syracuse, NY – May 2014) State Senator David J. Valesky (D-Oneida) announced that Judy O’Rourke, director of undergraduate studies at Syracuse University, has been selected as the 53rd Senate District’s 2014 Woman of Distinction. O’Rourke was recognized for her work in developing the Pan Am 103 Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars programs at SU, which honor the memory of the 35 students lost in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
“Judy O’Rourke responded to a horrific act of terrorism by creating a program that fosters community, friendship, and education,” Valesky said. “The students she mentors return to Scotland to become leaders and advocates for preventing terrorism, and I am pleased to honor her as this year’s Woman of Distinction.”
For the past 25 years, O’Rourke has been the American face of the Lockerbie Scholars Program and has been the liaison between Syracuse University and the families of the Pan Am victims. She has counseled and advised the nearly 50 Lockerbie Scholars who have each attended Syracuse for one year as visiting scholars following their graduation from Lockerbie Academy. In addition, she has been recognized by the Victims of Pan Am 103, of which she is a board member, with an award for “Keeping the Spirit Alive,” and in February she was made an honorary member of the Order of the British Empire.
O’Rourke is also a member of various SU councils and advisory boards including the Academic Coordinating Committee, the Advising Sub-committee of ACC, the Administrative Group for Academic Processes, and the Remembrance Scholarship selection committee. As co-director of SU’s Center for Scholarship & Fellowship Advising, O’Rourke works with faculty members to recruit, select, and mentor students who are eligible to apply for post-graduate fellowships such as the Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright. She is currently a member of the University Senate and has worked on various Senate committees.
The Syracuse-Lockerbie Scholarship Program was established in 1989 to honor the 270 individuals lost in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988, including 35 SU students and 11 Lockerbie residents. The program provides two students from the Lockerbie Academy, a high school in Lockerbie, Scotland, the chance to study for one year at Syracuse University.
The Remembrance Scholarship is one of the highest awards a Syracuse University student can receive. The scholarships were established in memory of the 35 students enrolled in the Division of International Programs Abroad who were killed onboard Pan Am Flight 103. A scholarship of $5,000 is awarded each year to 35 undergraduate students chosen for distinguished scholarship, citizenship, and service to the community.
The New York State Senate’s “Woman of Distinction” program was created in 1998 to honor New York women who exemplify personal excellence, or whose professional achievements or acts of courage, selflessness, integrity or perseverance serve as an example to all New Yorkers. Since the inception of the program, more than 400 women have been honored as Women of Distinction.
Senate Passes Valesky Legislation to Require State Agencies to Consider Impacts of New Rules on Businesses as Part of Larger Regulatory Relief Package
(Albany, NY – May 2014) The New York State Senate passed legislation (S.2158) sponsored by Senator David J. Valesky (D-Oneida) that strengthens the State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) to require consideration of potential adverse impacts on existing and future jobs and employment opportunities in the rulemaking process for state agencies.
“Too often, businesses become aware of the adverse repercussions of a rule or regulation after the fact,” Senator Valesky said. “This legislation will provide an opportunity for business owners and state agencies to proactively consider the effect a new rule could have on existing or future jobs, and make any necessary changes accordingly.”
Currently, state agencies must file a Job Impact Statement (JIS) outlining the potential effects of a new rule on existing jobs. Senator Valesky’s legislation expands this provision to require consideration of future jobs and to make the JIS available to the public.
“There’s an economic risk to keeping business owners in the dark, especially small business owners, about the possible changes new rules will have on jobs,” Senator Valesky said. “This legislation will shed some light on the process, and hopefully promote job retention and growth in the process.”
The legislation is part of a package passed in the Senate today which provides regulatory relief to businesses. Last year, the New York State Senate Majority Coalition held industry-specific public hearings across the state to listen to businesses and local officials and learn which rules, regulations, and mandates are the most useless, most costly, and should be eliminated. The coalition, led by Senators Valesky, Patrick Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma), David Carlucci (D, Rockland/Westchester), and Kathleen Marchione (R-C, Halfmoon), issued a comprehensive report in January that shed light on New York State’s notoriously dense regulatory structure and identified 2,219 specific rules, regulations and practices that put New York’s businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
The report confirmed that along with the need to deliver relief from high taxes, burdensome and unnecessary regulations continue to be a major obstacle when it comes to revitalizing New York’s economy. The report recognizes the importance of the state’s regulatory structure, but noted that rules should not be arbitrary, the reporting should not be duplicative, and the requirements should be easily accessible by those who must comply.
In addition to Senator Valesky’s legislation, legislation passed today includes:
– Bill S5657B sponsored by Senators Gallivan, Marchione, and Carlucci – establishes a task force to conduct a comprehensive review of the State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA). The task force would examine and make recommendations concerning the state’s rulemaking process and whether SAPA ensures the establishment of consistent, uniform rules or whether the process results in rules and regulations that are overly and unnecessarily burdensome and costly.
– Bill S1784 sponsored by Senator Carlucci – reforms SAPA to allow regulated businesses to petition a state agency for approval to use an alternative method to comply with a rule instead of the standards prescribed in the rule. Under current law, only groups of local governments can petition a state agency to use an alternative method to implement a rule.